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The Worst Witch (1998 TV Series)
The Worst Witch is a British ITV television series about a group of young witches at a Magic Academy and is based on The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy. The series stars Georgina Sherrington (As Mildred Hubble), Felicity Jones (as Ethel Hallow), Clare Coulter (as Miss Cackle), Kate Duchêne (as Miss Hardbroom) and Una Stubbs (as Miss Bat). Felicity Jones was replaced by Katie Allen after the first series, it was explained away as a magical makeover (a "witch-over"). Overview The TV series about the Worst Witch is based on Jill Murphy´s Worst Witch books and it was produced by Galafilm. In Autumn 1998, the first season was aired in UK and Canada, later it was also shown in a Mexico, Germany, Finland, Poland, US, Australia and likely in France. In Autumn 1999 the second season and in Autumn 2000 the third season was aired in UK and Canada- and later in other countries as well. Every summer, the witches would resume producing another 13 episodes of a new season. The series was broadcast from 1998 to 2001 on ITV, and later on HBO. The first season dramatised The Worst Witch'' and The Worst Witch Strikes Again , and the second series dramatised A Bad Spell For The Worst Witch and The Worst Witch All At Sea . Both of these two series also contained original stories. The third and final series continued with purely original material. Although the series targeted an eight- to 10-year-old female demographic, many older viewers watched, and today the series' fans are mainly late teenage and young adult women-many of whom watched it as young girls. Production The roughly $8-million, 13-part, half-hour series is a tripartite coproduction of London, England-based HTV and Global Arts and Montreal's Galafilm. It’s unique in that all the lead characters are female and the cast includes 15 regular characters. Produced by Angela Beeching and Michael Haggiag of Global Arts and directed by Andrew Morgan, John Smith and Stephan Pleszczynski, the series is mostly shot in studio in London, with some episodes lensed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Special effects are required for broom flying, disappearing, zaps and flashes, and tornado simulation, but Whitehead says the production devotes most of its money to the elaborate sets, the writing and the large cast. In Canada, the series is broadcast on YTV. It airs on HBO in the U.S, ITV in the UK and the ABC an Australia. While all the characters speak with a British accent, the series was dubbed into "American English" to help sell it in the U.S.- an idea courtesy of executive producer and Galafilm principal Arnie Gelbart. Writers on the series include Martin Riley, Garry Lyons, Clive Endersby and David Finley. HTV's Dan Maddicott, Arnie Gelbart and Michael Haggiag are executive producers. Differences from the books The majority of the storylines in the episodes came straight from the ''Worst Witch books, although some brand-new episodes were made up purely for the television series. New characters were invented as well, such as Jadu and Ruby (friends of Mildred) and Merlin 'Loppylugs' Longstaff (an apprentice wizard who the girls spend some time with). Some characters, such as Drusilla (a good friend of Ethel's) were mentioned briefly in the books and developed into more major characters for the television series. The books were re-released around the time of the television series, with new covers featuring scenes from the television series. There are some distinctive differences to the TV series: Miss Bat and Miss Drill hardly appear in the books, so do Griselda and Fenella - in fact, Griselda appears once, but only as a very timid third year who is tricked into getting tied up by Mildred so she can take her place in the Halloween display (as opposite to the TV series, where Mildred ties up Drusilla). Also the fourth Book, displaying Mildred´s visit to the recently freed wizard Rowan-Webb, is set not at a riverside retreat, but at the seaside - and there is no dragon lord. New characters were also added, such as Frank Blossom (the school's caretaker), Miss Crotchet, the music teacher in the third series who replaced Miss Bat and two students from ethnic minorities - Ruby Cherrytree and Jadu Wali. New recurring characters included Merlin, a wizard apprentice who befriended Mildred; Baz and Gaz, his two mean-spirited acquaintances; Charlie, Frank's nephew who really wanted to be a wizard; Mrs. Cosie, the nervous owner of the nearby tearoom; and Mistress Hecate Broomhead, the evil school inspector who later became a brief headmistress. Cast The acting in the television series is generally very good. Most of the girls playing the young witches were new to acting; this is noticeable in the first series. By the third series, however, they were all used to their characters and doing an extremely good job. The adult actors are also very good and well-suited to their characters. The actors in the television series have been made up to look almost exactly like the characters portrayed in the drawings by Jill Murphy. The costumes worn are also faithful to the book. Kate Duchene (Miss Hardbroom) even turned down a role in the Harry Potter film to remain true to her TV character. Miss Amelia Cackle - Clare Coulter Miss Constance Hardbroom - Kate Duchêne Miss Davina Bat- Una Stubbs Miss Lavinia Crotchet - Polly James Miss Imogen Drill - Claire Porter Mildred Hubble - Georgina Sherrington Maud Moonshine - Emma Brown Enid Nightshade - Jessica Fox Ruby Cherrytree - Joanna Dyce Jadu Wali - Harshna Brahmbatt Ethel Hallow - Felicity Jones (season 1)/Katie Allen(season 2 &3) Drusilla Paddock - Holly Rivers Fenella Feverfew - Julia Maleskwi(season 1 & 2)/ Emily Stride(season 3) Griselda Blackwood - Poppy Gaye Clarice Crow - Georgia Isla Graham Sibyl Hallow - Charlotte Knowles Mr Frank Blossom - Berwick Kaler Mrs Maria Tapioca - Annette Badland Mrs Semolina - Flaminia Cinque Charlie Blossom - Nicholas Pepper Egbert Hellibore - Terrence Hardiman (Seasons 1 & 3)/Richard Durden (Season 2) Algernon Rowan-Webb - Paul Copley Merlin Longstaff - Guy Witcher Garry Grailquest - Anthony Hamblin Barry Dragonsbane - Paul Child Mr Hallow - Patrick Pearson Miss Heckitty Broomhead - Janet Henfrey Agatha Cackle - Clare Coulter Melitta Coldstone - Jackie Webb Betty Bindweed - Jenny Mc Cracken Mrs Cosy - Sheena Larkin Serge Dubois - Patrick Labbè Miss Gribble- Rebecca Clarke Miss Pentangle- Charmian May Deirdre Swoop- Stephanie Lane Episodes Season 1 1- The Battle of the Broomsticks 2- When We Feast at the Midnight Hour 3- A Pig In a Poke 4- A Mean Halloween 5- Double, Double, Toil and Trouble 6- Monkey Business 7- Miss Cackle's Birthday Surprise 8- The Great Outdoors 9- The Heat is On 10- Sorcery and Chips 11- Let Them Eat Cake 12- Sweet Talking Guys 13- A Bolt from the Blue Season 2 1- Old Hats and New Brooms 2- Alarms and Diversions 3- Its a Frogs Life 4- Crumpets for Tea 5- The Inspector Calls 6- Animal Magic 7- Carried Away 8- The Dragon's Hoard 9- The Genius of the Lamp 10- Up in the Air 11- Fair Is Foul & Fouls Are Fair 12- Green Fingers and Thumbs 13- The Millennium Bug Season 3 1- Secret Society 2- An Unforgettable Experience 3- Which Witch Is Which? 4- The Witchy Hour 5- Learning the Hard Way 6- The Hair Witch Project 7- Just Like Clockwork 7a- Cinderella in Boots (Christmas Special) 8- Art Wars 9- Power Drill 10- Better Dead than Co-Ed 11- The Lost Chord 12- The Unfairground 13- The Uninvited Cinderella in Boots ''was a Christmas Special, and is not in the normal numbering of episodes. it is variously listed as 3-14, 3-7a, or just 3-8, with Art Wars as 3-9 and so on. Awards and nominations In 1999, the series was nominated by the Royal Television Society for Best Children's Drama. In 2000, Georgina Sherrington won the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series - Leading Young Actress The Worst Witch has been sold to more than 60 countries and have scooped several international prizes, as well as Bafta, Prix Jeunesse and Royal Television Society award nominations.http://www.itv.com/documents/pdf/itv_winterspring_citv.pdf VHS and DVD releases In the United Kingdom season 1 was released on VHS on six video sets in 2000. "The Best of" was released on DVD in 2002 and included the episodes: "Battle of the Broomsticks", "A Pig in a Poke", "Old Hats and New Brooms", "It's a Frog's Life", "The Witchy Hour", "Unfairground", and "The Uninvited". In the United States seasons 1 and 2 were released on DVD in 2004. In Australia series 1-3 of The Worst Witch were released onto DVD as was Weirdsister College, and both seasons of The New Worst Witch were released in 2007. Seasons one and two of The Worst Witch were released onto one boxset, containing four disks which play on most DVD players (including the United Kingdom), and Season three and Weirdsister College on another boxset. Wwdvdaus.jpg|Australian DVD, Series 1&2 Wwdvdaus2.jpg|Australian DVD, Series 3&4 Wwdvdus5.jpg|US DVD, Battle of the Broomsticks Wwdvdus.jpg|US DVD Wwdvdus3.jpg|US DVD, A Mean Halooween Wwdvdus2.jpg|US DVD, Miss Cackle's Birthday Suprise Wwdvdus6.jpg|US DVD, Sorcery and Chips Wwdvdus4.jpg|US DVD Notes and references External links Fansite The Worst Witch at Amazon.co.uk official Galafilm site http://www.galafilm.com/worstwitch/english/ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0179061/ ''The Worst Witch] at the Internet Movie Database Category:Books and TV